Chapter 94

The challenge required clearing three separate cities starting on the twenty-sixth floor.

Under normal circumstances, he would have traveled to each location to handle the threats personally, but current conditions made that impossible.

He was tasked with destroying the B-rank City Ghost in every single city within a five-hour window.

“Drill Sarge.”

• Listening, Master.

“Take the northern route by yourself. You can handle that, right?”

• Naturally.

“The rest of you will head out west.”

Following Baek Jinwoo’s directives, Ramba lifted her small hand.

• Where does that leave you, Jinwoo? Which direction are you taking?

“I’ll take the eastern path along with the Skypierce Wyvern.”

• What?!

Ramba gasped in shock.

• Going by yourself?! That is far too hazardous!

“There’s no choice. If I don’t, Stormy’s quest will end up resetting.”

It was a massive hassle.

Yet, no alternative existed.

Enduring a hundred days of torment was a small price to pay. If it meant securing an incredibly overpowered, completely broken ability, he would see it through to the end.

Besides, technically speaking, he wasn’t going entirely unaided. He still had the wyvern and his puppets at his disposal.

“With my puppets providing backup, taking down a City Ghost is perfectly doable. Don’t worry so much.”

From this point forward, success hinged entirely on his micromanagement.

It was a feat ordinary players couldn’t pull off even if their survival depended on it, but Baek Jinwoo was entirely capable of it.

“Ramba.”

• Y-yes?

“Start building up your stacks. Your group has the lowest damage output, so you won’t be able to force your way through without those stacks.”

• Understood… After all, Stormy won’t be accompanying us this time.

Fwish-fwish-fwish-fwish-FWISH!

Ramba began twirling her staff through the air.

At this stage, Ramba’s sole reliance was Rolly. Her priority was to maximize Rolly’s stacks so they could tear through any opposition in their path.

“Alright, our time is ticking away. Move out.”

In the absolute worst-case scenario, Stormy’s quest would simply reset. That setback could be remedied with roughly another month of dedicated grinding, so it wasn’t a total disaster.

It would be annoying, certainly.

He would also have to spend more effort coaxing Hwang Jiwoo, but that was fine. She had joined the guild now, so she would follow instructions when prompted.

Whoooosh!

Baek Jinwoo rocketed skyward on the back of the wyvern.

“Loser is whoever finishes last.”

• I shall sprint to the objective immediately, Master!

• Understood! I refuse to come in last! LET’S GOOOO!

The summoned forces split up and hurried toward their respective zones.

FWAAAAAASH!

As the freezing air battered his face, Baek Jinwoo lost himself in contemplation.

They were currently on the 26th floor.

The loot he had collected up to this point was structured as follows:

[Floor 21 — Universal Abrasive x20]

[Floor 22 — Supreme-grade rune selection ticket (Bound) x2]

[Floor 23 — High-grade summoning scroll x25]

[Floor 24 — Supreme-grade summoning scroll x7]

[Floor 25 — Universal Abrasive x20]

To put it simply, everything had progressed without a hitch. It was the standard assortment of rewards one typically anticipates from the Tower of Trials.

He had held out hope for a rare creature drop like an A-rank Mindreader Eagle or perhaps a high-tier randomized reward chest, but luck hadn’t swung that way.

‘There they are.’

Roughly an hour had passed since he took to the sky. Apparitions were slowly starting to materialize below.

“Wyvern.”

• Kirurururu!

“Descend lower.”

SKWAAAAAAH!

The flying beast cut through the air currents and plummeted downward.

Ignoring the sudden plunge in his gut, he narrowed his concentration.

‘I need to eliminate them sequentially as I advance.’

This was the only method available to reduce the overall difficulty of the 30th floor’s ultimate encounter, the S-rank Phantom.

Swish!

Baek Jinwoo twitched his fingers, taking active control of all five of his puppets simultaneously.

The Fire Puppet, Water Puppet, Wood Puppet, Metal Puppet, and Earth Puppet!

They advanced in a weaving, crisscross pattern right alongside the diving wyvern, discharging a synchronized torrent of elemental forces. Each strike left a blur of residual energy behind.

KABOOOOOOM!

• KYAAAAAH!

• KYEEEEEK!

The spirits shattered into pieces, letting out agonizing screams.

‘Why does this feel so effortless?’

It felt strange.

Was he truly born with a natural talent for this? Tactics that proved incredibly clunky back when he played 「Battle of Summoners」 were now executing with flawless precision.

‘This is definitely much easier to handle in real life compared to a computer monitor.’

Click!

Baek Jinwoo reached down and toggled the recording feature on his equipped gear.

Up until this moment, he had simply powered through the challenges without capturing any tactical footage, meaning he hadn’t seen a reason to use it. This situation, however, felt distinct.

‘This should prove useful to Song Yeonhui.’

It would likely serve as an excellent reference for her.

As he pushed deeper into the zone, the density of the apparitions increased significantly. He was clearly nearing the boundaries of the urban area.

Naturally, he vaporized every single spirit that crossed his path, causing his experience levels to surge rapidly.

…

[Fire Puppet (B-rank) has reached level 30.]

[Fire Puppet (B-rank)’s STR increases by 3.]

[Water Puppet (B-rank) has reached level 30.]

[Water Puppet (B-rank)’s STR increases by 3.]

Incredible.

They had hit 30 already.

He had noted this previously during the fusion process, but the absolute level cap was 100. Still, the upper limit one could generally attain using basic summon fusion hovered right around 35.

Past that point, fusion ceased to be effective. Completely.

The only option left was to grind relentlessly through combat, and even then, progress slowed to a crawl.

‘Reaching the cap takes roughly five years, doesn’t it?’

And that estimate only applied if a person hunted day in and day out without a single break, like a true fanatic. Even the legendary JinuGod profile from 「Battle of Summoners」 hadn’t managed to secure a maximum-level summon until roughly his eighth year of playing.

‘The top-tier players globally are probably sitting somewhere in the 50s regarding level.’

Which was already an extraordinary achievement. Later on, the sheer volume of experience required to advance from level 51 to 52 surpassed the collective experience needed to get from level 1 all the way to 51.

‘Song Yeonhui owes me a huge favor.’

He was effectively allowing her to feast on an absurd amount of experience from these ghosts.

‘As for my own progression…’

It didn’t matter.

The specific puppets Baek Jinwoo intended to utilize down the road were entirely different entities. He had his eye on a very particular A-rank Unique puppet, one that could eventually be bought from the shop using the spoils from the Chaos Dragon.

The underlying issue was that its Unique status meant only a single copy existed across the entire network, creating massive pressure to claim it before anyone else. But that was a problem for a future date.

‘Time to lock in.’

The silhouette of the city was expanding on the horizon. Every single shape making up that skyline was actually a ghost.

‘Roughly three and a half hours remaining.’

He needed to systematically raze the entire location within that timeframe to secure the floor victory, meaning his fingers couldn’t afford a single moment of rest.

[3 ghost cities have been defeated.]

[Congratulations!]

[The 26th floor of the Tower of Trials has been conquered!]

When all was said and done…

The very last person to wrap things up was Baek Jinwoo.

‘That makes sense.’

No matter how flawlessly he micromanaged his puppets, there was simply no competing with the raw speed of EX-rank summons.

Right around the three-hour mark, Drill Sarge had already leveled his assigned city. Near the four-hour mark, the Ramba contingent had pulverized theirs.

Baek Jinwoo had cleared out the periphery of his city and was only midway through clearing the inner structures when the timer hit the final twenty minutes.

Spurred by urgency, he made a straight dash for the urban center and eliminated the principal City Ghost.

Well, leaving that minor portion undone was perfectly fine. If things were too simple, it would lose all excitement. Drill Sarge would just have to exert a bit more effort once they reached the 30th floor.

And then, the clear bonus materialized.

[A reward has arrived.]

[You have obtained a ‘Guaranteed Summoning Scroll’ (C-rank)!]

What?

Baek Jinwoo’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

Hold on.

What did that notification just say?

A Guaranteed Summoning Scroll?

Oh man…

OH MAN, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!

Baek Jinwoo pumped his fists into the air, letting out an ecstatic shout.

The sky had transitioned into total darkness.

Rumble!

The moment he heaved open the main entrance of the structure and walked outside, the crisp, cool autumn night air washed over him.

“Jinwoo-nim!”

Hwang Jiwoo came running over instantly, as though she had been counting down the minutes for his return.

‘Look at this.’

A campfire had been kindled right in front of the entrance, an obvious creation of Stormy.

“Oh? You seem to be in an incredible mood?”

“Is it really that obvious?”

Haha.

He was floating on cloud nine. How could he possibly restrain himself?

He had specifically instructed Baek Ajin regarding this scenario. He told her that if a C-rank Guaranteed Summoning Scroll or its equivalent crafting design ever surfaced, she needed to inform him without a second’s delay, instructing her to search every corner of the planet to find one.

And of all the places for it to appear! On a mundane 26th floor!

‘To think it would just fall right into my lap like this.’

“Where did Song Yeonhui go?”

“She wrapped up her practice session and headed back home. She mentioned she would return by 5 AM tomorrow morning.”

Ah, that made sense.

Hwang Jiwoo was forced to wait out here due to the terms of her agreement, but Song Yeonhui had zero incentive to linger around outside.

“Isn’t this schedule exhausting for you?”

Reflecting on it, he felt genuinely appreciative of Hwang Jiwoo. Agreement or not, she was effectively stranded out here, stripped of her personal freedom entirely because of Stormy’s requirements.

“If I claimed it wasn’t grueling, I’d be lying. But despite the hardships, it brings an equal amount of joy.”

“Joy?”

“Yes. I’m fortunate enough to occupy a position that literally every single player alive wishes they were in.”

Wow.

She really knew how to phrase things beautifully. Maintaining an attitude like that meant good fortune would probably find her even while she slept.

“Has Stormy been behaving?”

He strolled over toward the fire and took a seat on the ground. Stormy provided a cheerful reply.

• Yes, Jinwoo-nim. I have been conversing with Jiwoo-nim this entire time. Will my presence be required on the upcoming floor?

“Yes, you’ll be needed, but… hold on for just a moment.”

Whoosh!

Priority number one—he retrieved the freshly acquired Guaranteed Summoning Scroll.

“Let me perform a quick summon first.”

Indeed.

It had to be quite isolating for her, keeping watch out here all by herself. He might as well provide her with some quality entertainment.

[Guaranteed Summoning Scroll]

[Rank: C-rank]

[Allows you to definitively summon any C-rank summon of your choosing.]

Ah.

No matter how many times he stared at the description, it remained a beautiful sight.

The remaining EX-rank entities left on his checklist were:

• Little Giant (C-rank)

• Dhampir (C-rank)

• Aso (A-rank)

• Demon Cat (A-rank)

• Armageddon Dragon (S-rank)

Those represented their baseline tiers. Given the system modifications, every single one of them would actually manifest as an EX-rank unit in reality.

‘Should I go with Little Giant or Dhampir…’

The Little Giant functioned as a frontline defender, while the Dhampir served as a restoration specialist.

The core issue was that deploying just one of them usually made you look like a joke. The two units needed to be utilized as a pair to unlock their genuinely broken synergy.

‘It’s a bit unfortunate that I can only bring forth one right now, but…’

Faced with selecting one first, Baek Jinwoo’s choice unvaryingly landed on the Little Giant.

‘Let’s do this.’

RIIIIIP!

Baek Jinwoo ripped the parchment open without a moment of hesitation.

[Using ‘Guaranteed Summoning Scroll’ (C-rank)!]

[Player ‘Baek Jinwoo’ selects a summon!]

Shwaaaaa!

The manifestation sequence mirrored his previous experiences. An overwhelming cascade of cards flooded across Baek Jinwoo’s field of vision.

[Picture the summon you desire!]

Baek Jinwoo instantly visualized the exact form of the Little Giant.

The Little Giant—frequently abbreviated as LG.

It was a completely contradictory designation. “Giant” implied an entity of massive proportions, yet this specific one was labeled “little”…

And the most amusing aspect? The creature wasn’t even a human being.

It was an animated construct. A basic Stone Golem with strands of vegetation sprouting out from every single crack in its rocky exterior.

Shwip, shwiiip!

The massive array of cards shuffled rapidly before grinding to a halt, leaving a solitary option hovering in front of him.

[Little Giant (EX-rank)]

Oh, brilliant!

It registered as an EX-rank, precisely as he anticipated!

Baek Jinwoo grabbed the card without delaying for even a fraction of a second.

[Player ‘Baek Jinwoo’ has obtained the summon ‘Little Giant’ (EX-rank)!]

The absolute pinnacle of masochistic defensive units—the more punishment it absorbed, the more its health and mana resource pools expanded simultaneously!

When paired alongside the Dhampir, it formed an impenetrable defensive wall as immovable as a mountain peak. That legendary entity now materialized before him.

• Guh, gwooor?

THOOM!

A relatively compact golem, standing roughly three meters in height, materialized out of thin air and slammed heavily onto the ground. It was gripping a massive bulwark of a shield.

[Summon: Little Giant]

[Species: Golem]

[Rank: EX-rank (Quarantine designation)]

• Balance-breaking elements detected under specific conditions. Quarantined.

[Level: 1]

[Stats]

STR: 1, INT: 1, VIT: 1, AGI: 1

HP: 1,000, MP: 0

Crit Rate: 20%

Crit Damage: 20%

[Skills]

• Indomitable: Recovers 20% of damage received as HP.

• Magic Absorption: Recovers 20% of damage received as MP.

• Gwor! Gwooor!

Much like Rolly, this entity was not built for verbal communication.

“Wh-what on earth is that?”

“This guy?”

Responding to Hwang Jiwoo’s bewildered inquiry, Baek Jinwoo grinned widely.

“Make your introductions. You’re going to be seeing a whole lot of LG moving forward.”

• GWOOOOOOR!

This marked the initial encounter with LG—the entity destined to serve as Baek Jinwoo’s unyielding, reliable shield from this day onward.